Dating Teammates is (not) Always a Bad Idea
by MXXYMX
Summary: [Originally Lunchtime] - Originally just a one-shot, my intention is for this to be something of an extended story in the AU-ish thing my other two RWBY fics had set up. Nothing too special, just a long-ish Ladybug story. Freezerburn will likely also happen as this goes on, chapters to be added as they come to me.
1. Lunchtime

Ruby had been going on all week about a cute little bookshop and café that she had found, and Blake had finally agreed to check it out with her on Sunday. Sure it would mean missing out on time Blake usually reserved for herself, but Blake found that she was looking forward to it. Ruby had very good tastes in books and bookshops and despite her high energy levels Ruby's presence never seemed to tire Blake out as much as people usually did. Yes… Sunday was going to be a good day.

"So who's the lucky guy?"

Suddenly aware that she had been daydreaming, Blake jerked back into reality, the crowded hum of the Beacon cafeteria at lunchtime fading back in. However, she still wasn't quite sure why Yang had asked that, or if there was any context she was missing, so she just raised an eyebrow in confusion.

Taking this gesture as some sort of judgement rather than questioning, Yang raised her hands off the table defensively. "Sorry, sorry," she said. "Shouldn't have assumed that. Lucky girl then?"

This still wasn't making any sense. Yang was one of her dearest friends and Blake felt that she had gotten pretty used to her… eccentricities in the few years that they had been partners, but apparently she could still throw Blake for a loop every now and again. "Yang, I still have no idea what you're talking about."

Relaxing a bit, Yang rolled her eyes. "Aww come on. Far-away look in your eyes, slight smile while daydreaming, playing with your food, _somebody_ 's in love."

Blake just sighed. Not this again. "Yang, I've told you a hundred times I'm not interested in anyone. I'm not even looking for a relationship." She paused, then added "And if you must know, I was thinking about this coming weekend. Ruby and I are going into town on Sunday. She wants to show me a book shop she likes."

Thinking the matter settled, Blake went back to her lunch and resumed eating. Sure Yang would have some "witty" comeback or pun but this wasn't the first time the two of them had this particular conversation, and this was the point where the conversation tended to be pretty much over. However, the only thing that came out of Yang's mouth was a choked gurgle.

Blake looked back up to make sure Yang hadn't choked on her food. However, Yang showed no sign of physical distress. Instead, her face was screwed up into a frozen expression of mixed shock and horror - it would have been comical if it weren't so concerning. "Wow, what's up with you Yang?" asked Blake. "I mean, all I said was that Ruby and I were going to town this…" she trailed off.

Wait- Yang couldn't be thinking that she...

Blake's eyes widened and she shot forward in her seat. "Yang, I know what you're thinking and I _swear_ I don't have a crush on Ruby! I-I mean I'm not saying that she- we're just friends I swear!"

Yang just dropped her head into her hands and groaned. "Ugghhhh that's just it though you've _totally_ got a thing for my sister. I mean you spend all your time with her, you're never too busy to help her with homework _even with_ Weiss' standing offer to help her study, shit you've even started spending your 'you' time with her! You never spend your 'you' time with anyone!"

Before Blake could muster a response, Yang held up a hand and gave a resigned sigh. "No, no it's totally fine. I get it. I mean objectively speaking Ruby's pretty hot stuff. It had to happen some time. I'm just glad it's you. Really of all the people who could have crushed on Ruby you're pretty much the best case scenario, y'know?"

Almost at a loss for words, Blake could only weakly try to address Yang's last point. "I mean... I'm sure I've spent some of my 'me' time with you, right? We've known each other for years it has to have happened."

Yang just looked at her for a second before shaking her head. "Yeah, no. Aside from missions and times when we've dragged you out as a team you've always spent Sunday Blake Time alone."

"Okay Yang, I'll give you that. But this conversation is getting sort of uncomfortable. Ruby's awesome and I love spending time with her, but I _promise_ I don't have a crush on your sister. That's that. Let's just eat our lunches now." said Blake.

Yang just rolled her eyes and gave a neutral grunt before turning back to her lunch. After a few seconds of silence, she piped back up. "Say, that's a lot of strawberries. I know that you've started eating more of them lately, but two bowls? With the rest of your food that's a _lot_ for one person."

"Oh the second bowl's not for me. I got it for Ru-" Blake cut herself off. "Oh come on, Yang you know that the fruit here always runs out really fast. Ruby and Weiss are running late and by now there's probably nothing left."

"Riiiiiiight," Yang said. She paused for a second then sighed. "Fine, you've made your point, you don't totally want to make out with Ruby. I'm just sayin', if you change your mind I'd be pretty okay with it. As long as you don't do it around me of course. As much as I trust you to date her that's _not_ something I need to see."

Blake sighed. "Yang, it's clear there's nothing I can say that will sway you from thinking I have a crush on Ruby, so I'm not even going to try anymore. Again, can we just eat our lunches?" Out of the corner of her eye Blake caught sight of Ruby and Weiss, finally finished with whatever errand had delayed them and arriving with their food. "Look, Ruby's here now and I think we can both agree we don't want to be having this conversation anywhere near her."

Yang just rolled her eyes. As Ruby and Weiss walked over, Blake and Yang heard the tail end of whatever conversation that they had been having.

"Weeiiiiss the pasta's gone all soggy, the chicken's cold, and there was no fruit left! Why'd you make me stay late with you? You didn't need me there to suck up to the teacher I could have been here getting food!"

"Well if _some_ one had actually done her part of the project on time like she said she would she wouldn't have needed me to talk the professor into giving us an extension! Anyways let's leave off there I'm sure our teammates don't need to hear us argue."

After they sat down Ruby immediately turned to Blake and Yang and started complaining. Blake smiled; as bad as this would have appeared to anyone else the whole scene was pretty much par for the course for their team. Since she'd heard it all before dozens of times and she knew Ruby wasn't serious, just complaining for the sake of complaining and to keep up tradition, Blake tuned her complaints out and turned to regard her a bit more carefully.

Really though - as cute and fun to be around as Ruby was the idea that she had a crush on her was just absurd. She had more than enough on her plate to even think about her love life, and dating within a team was just a recipe for disaster. No, there was no way she had a crush on Ruby.

At this point Ruby started waving her arms around and making wild gestures - no doubt inventing some fanciful story as to why she couldn't do her part of whatever project was the problem this time. In truth, Blake knew that the two of them had spent most of the weekend hanging out together.

Yes, she and Ruby had been spending a lot of their free time together these days, and she looked forward to her time with Ruby like nothing else. Still, to say that she had a _crush_ on her was just… she didn't have a crush on Ruby and that was that.

Blake cleared the thought from her head. She sensed Ruby was getting to the end of her rant and she didn't want to miss her opportunity.

"And to top it all off, now I've got an awful lunch! It's all soggy and cold and weird, and I didn't even get to the fruit in time!"

 _Ah. There it was._

"Actually, Ruby, once I figured out that you and Weiss were going to be late, I got an extra bowl of strawberries for you if you would like it."

Ruby's reaction was just as gratifying as Blake was hoping it would be. _There_ was the gleam in her eyes that Blake loved, and _there_ was the smile that always made her feel so warm, and _there_ was that happy little wiggle that Ruby did sometimes that always made Blake smile, and… and… maybe she did ha-?

No. Best to cut that line of thought off before it got going. She didn't have a crush on Ruby.

Ruby grabbed her first strawberry and closed her eyes, savoring the first bite.

Yes, she was extremely attractive and being near her always made Blake feel amazing, but she _definitely_ didn't have a crush on her.

Finishing the strawberry, Ruby sat back and gave a happy little hum. Turning to Blake, Ruby's face lit up anew as she smiled. "Thanks Blake! You're the best!"

Blake felt an unmistakable flutter in her stomach. _Shit. Yang was right._

She did have a crush on Ruby.


	2. Meditations on Ruby

The next few days were hellish for Blake. Years of living alternately on the run or in hiding had left her constantly anxious and on edge around others, examining and reexamining every single interaction or gesture for any trace of anything amiss. She had very much arrived at Beacon in this state, and even with the support and friendship her team offered it had taken months, if not years to feel like she'd moved past it to any real extent. True, she wasn't always entirely comfortable when around too many people, but that was just a surface-level discomfort.

However, she hadn't felt any of that towards any of her teammates for years. For what was really the first time in her memory she was able to more or less just... _be_. She hardly worried that a careless comment or gesture might be misinterpreted or give away some secret, she hadn't worried that her friends weren't _actually_ her friends anymore. Until now she hadn't been aware of just how draining always being on edge was, and though she still preferred to spend large chunks of her free time alone and as quietly as possible, she felt more energetic and free than she had in years. However, her recent conversation with Yang and the realizations it led her to had changed things. In addition to whatever worries she assumed were unavoidable upon realizing one had feelings for a very close friend, she found herself slipping back into those old ways. She felt constantly on edge around Ruby, watching herself every time they interacted, making sure she didn't do anything at all that could be interpreted as improper or non-platonic.

Now that she knew what to look for, it was almost frightening how obvious her crush was, at least internally. She started feeling warmer and lighter whenever Ruby entered the room, and was far more lax about letting Ruby into her personal space than she was with anyone else she could think of. She always let their all-too-rare hugs last a few seconds longer than she was comfortable with anybody else's hugs (and wished them longer yet), and recently had found herself finding a faint and somewhat alarming urge to nuzzle her face into Ruby's neck. Around Ruby she let her guard down almost entirely, just saying whatever came to mind and trusting that she would take things correctly. All of this was far too dangerous. If Ruby caught on to the slightest extent of Blake's feelings for her, it would jeopardize everything she had worked for for the last three years. No more casual touches, no more letting herself speak without thinking twice, no more letting herself even look at Ruby outside of times where it would be expected.

It was exhausting.

Suddenly needing to be _this_ watchful again, even around just one person, was draining in a way Blake ever could have imagined. Except - it wasn't "just one person," was it? Even putting aside her romantic feelings and the fact that they still lived and trained together every day, Blake had opened up to Ruby the most out of anyone on campus, and she was the person Blake was most comfortable around. Oh, of course she trusted Yang with her life, they were partners after all, but even at Blake's most energetic and outgoing Yang tended to grate on her nerves after a while.

Not so with Ruby. Ruby seemed content to just share the same space with Blake for hours, reading her own book or tinkering with whatever project she had taken up recently. Both of them comfortably quiet for the most part, only breaking the silence to point out interesting parts of their books or when they had something specific to say. Blake had never known it was possible to spend that much time around a person and still be so comfortable.

On top of losing that outlet, Blake's constant hyper-awareness forced her to pay even closer to Ruby and forced her to think about her all the more at a time where that was least helpful. When not paying strict attention to her own body language she found herself examining Ruby's even more, noticing all the little quirks and tics that she realized she had always loved but had never quite put words to - the difference between relaxed, around friends Ruby and the less comfortable, surrounded by other people Ruby. The extra little spring in her step the day she had come back from the weapons store with some new cartridges she wanted to play around with - how even at her most relaxed Ruby was never entirely still, always fidgeting or tinkering with whatever was at hand.

And Blake also found herself thinking about Ruby far more as well. Now that she thought about it, she realized Ruby reminded her a lot of her younger self - the same optimism, the same idealism, the same drive to make the world a better place. Ruby had somehow managed to continue to carry all of that into adulthood, remaining joyful in the direst times, finding silver linings in every cloud. Moreover, no matter how awkward she could be around others, Blake had never met anyone who cared about her friends as much as Ruby did (with the possible exception of Yang of course) - Ruby always tried to make sure that all her friends were happy, constantly going out of her way to make sure that nobody felt left out. All of this on top of the fact that Ruby was just so pleasant to be around, always such a ray of light in an all-too-often dark world.

All of this in mind, it almost surprised Blake it had taken someone else's intervention to realize her feelings. She had always prided herself on knowing her own emotions, but considering just how fond she had been feeling towards Ruby she should have figured things out far sooner. Ruby was just so... _wonderful._ Everything about her - kind, intelligent (if somewhat unmotivated when it came to certain academics), trusting and almost frighteningly skilled on the battlefield - not to mention, though Blake felt slightly guilty admitting this to herself, just how beautiful Ruby was, without even trying.

...

Blake groaned and dropped her head into her hands. Hell, all of this and it had only been a couple of _days_ \- she had no idea how she was going to survive however long it took for this crush to go away. Almost as soon as she realized her feelings for Ruby Blake put the thought of actually trying to date her out of her mind. The sheer idiocy of dating within one's team aside, let alone dating one's leader, she didn't know if Ruby was even attracted to girls (or to Faunus, a smaller, darker part of her whispered. She knew Ruby was better than that, _of course_ she was, but the little voice remained nonetheless) - she didn't even know if Ruby was attracted to _anybody_. She'd never known Ruby to have a crush on someone, and once or twice Yang had mentioned that Ruby had never come to her asking for love advice. Of course that could just be reluctance on Ruby's part to ask for advice in this particular area, but considering how highly Ruby held Yang in her regards otherwise, Blake didn't think it was too likely.

No, the wisest course of action by far would be to weather the storm and hold out until these impossible feelings faded. As much as it might hurt her, it was still far safer than risking the entire team dynamic, as well as the comfort and safety of this new life she had found all on a gamble she couldn't see herself winning. She would just have to be Ruby's friend and pretend that she wanted nothing more, pretend that nothing was amiss for however long it took. She didn't want to put Ruby into the position of having to shoot her down. She didn't want to hurt her.

Which brought her to her plans for the day. It was finally the time she and Ruby had put aside to visit that new bookshop and despite her misgivings Blake hadn't found the heart to cancel on their plans. Given how hard just being around Ruby was for her in a normal setting, going on what could be seen as some sort of a platonic date with her was going to be...

It didn't matter. She was going to be a good friend to Ruby and pretend that was all she wanted for however long it took for these feelings to fade away, and spending the day with her was just going to have to be a part of that.

Blake just wished she knew precisely how she felt about the day to come. She felt slightly dizzy, and she wasn't sure if it was from excitement or dread.


	3. A Trip to Town

"Ready to go?" Ruby asked.

Blake flinched. She'd tried to get herself ready, to calm her nerves before she and Ruby left for town, but all it had done was make her more nervous than ever. Once again, she briefly considered cancelling. Even though it _was_ very last minute she wouldn't have to lie to say she wasn't feeling well enough to go out, but she couldn't find the heart to let Ruby down. Ruby had been so excited to spend this time with her and Blake found that it was becoming increasingly difficult to say no to that face. She sighed internally and put on a brave face.

"Just give me a minute to grab my things - I'll be right out!" Blake said. She took a deep breath. Maybe this wouldn't be too bad. After all, she loved spending time with Ruby, she was interested in this new bookstore Ruby had found, and even though she was sure she'd had feelings for Ruby a long time before she figured it out, things had never gotten weird. How badly could things go?

 _Very_ badly, as it turned out. Since the two of them normally spent their free time together around the room, they hadn't taken into account how busy of a time Sunday afternoons were into planning their day. Normally, of course, that wouldn't be too much of a problem - these days, Blake was usually able to handle crowds just fine. However, it also meant that the shuttles to town were quite crowded.

Which meant that Ruby had to squish _right_ up next to her on the shuttle down.

Ruby, considerate as always, was of course trying to give Blake her personal space, but there was only so much she could do when the shuttle was this crowded. As it was, the two of them weren't quite touching, but Ruby certainly was closer to her than Blake was used to. _Close enough for you to put your arm around_ , a small voice in Blake's head reminded her. She shook her head and tried to collect herself. This was decidedly _not_ the time to be thinking that way. Not that any time really _was_ , considering there was no way anything would ever come of her ridiculous feelings, but especially not now, not when Ruby was so close.

Evidently Ruby sensed some of Blake's discomfort, and she turned towards her. "Is everything okay Blake?" she asked.

Blake grimaced and nodded. "I'm fine. Just… a bit more crowded than I would like," she said.

Ruby winced and made to apologize. "I'm really sorry Blake I should have thought of how crowded it would be today. I-"

Suddenly, the shuttle hit a bump, catapulting Ruby into Blake. Since they had been talking, this also meant that Ruby's face was barely a handful of inches from Blake's. Freezing up, Blake could feel the heat rising to her face and her pulse start to race as she desperately tried to think of _anything_ else. Ruby, of course, didn't think anything was off, just apologizing to Blake and going back to her seat. Still, Blake's heart was pounding and as she tried to fight down the blush that was threatening to overwhelm her face, she groaned to herself. It was going to be a _long_ day.

Luckily, Blake was able to distract herself and the rest of the ride passed without any other incidents of note, the two of them sitting in comfortable silence. However, when they arrived at the station Blake was dismayed to find that it was, if anything, more crowded than back at school. Blake groaned. She definitely was _not_ in the mood to deal with crowds today. After pausing for a second to take in the crowd, Ruby tapped Blake on the shoulder and leaned in so Blake could hear her over the noise of the crowd.

"Maybe we should hold hands!" she said loudly.

Blake froze. Had she just heard Ruby correctly? She was pretty sure she had but… Ruby couldn't have suggested they _hold hands_ had she? That couldn't be it. Suddenly feeling much warmer, she looked over at Ruby, who was still looking at her innocently, as if she had suggested something entirely normal.

Ruby blinked at her. "Y'know, so we don't get separated." she said.

 _Right._ Right. Of course. That's what Ruby meant. Just something entirely practical and not at all indicative of anything else at all. Just two friends holding hands in a crowded place so they wouldn't get separated. Blake nodded and gingerly extended a hand.

Ruby took it and started leading Blake through the crowd.

Blake had no idea what she should focus on. Initially she had just tried to blank everything out and let Ruby lead her through the crowd, but after colliding a little too roughly with a couple of people, she decided that she needed to focus on _something_. Ruby's hand? Of course that was the obvious choice and it _would_ be very pleasant, but at the same time she had already committed to forgetting that silly crush she had and focusing on the fact that _she was holding Ruby Rose's hand_ surely wouldn't help that.

The crowd then? She definitely wouldn't crash into any more people if she did that and all the noise would certainly distract her from how warm her hand was getting but it wouldn't be helpful at all in any other way. In fact, all the sensory input would probably overwhelm her and set her even more on edge for the rest of the day, and she didn't want to spoil their outing for Ruby any more than she already had. Blake gulped. Ruby's hand it was then.

Of course Blake hadn't done anything as inappropriate as imagine what Ruby's hand held in hers would feel like, yet she found herself thinking they were still somehow a little rougher than... _whatever_ she'd expected. Now that she thought again it did make sense of course. Despite her love of frilly clothing Ruby was hardly what you would call a dainty girl most of the time, constantly tinkering with weapons and machines, spending hours at a time at her workbench over some mechanical problem that had caught her attention. Not to mention wielding the weapons of course. It made perfect sense that her hands were a little more calloused than she had expected. And she _did_ have to admit it was quite a pleasant texture.

And her hand was so _warm_. Blake was probably biased, but Ruby's hand was one of the most pleasantly cozy things she had ever held. Blake wondered if part of that warmth was genetic. From the occasional bone-crushing hug Blake knew that Yang was _always_ extremely warm. And, while she was no expert, Ruby's hand did certainly feel like it was giving off more heat than most people's' hands would. However, Ruby's hand gave off a different sort of heat than her sister's. If Yang was a raging inferno or the baking midday sun Ruby was more like a cozy fire, or the warmth of a patch of afternoon sunlight. Less intense - far more pleasant and the sort of heat you could spend hours basking in. Before she could stop it Blake found herself imagining what it would feel like to lean her cheek into that hand on a cold Winter's day, and idly wondering if all of Ruby was as warm as her hand. If so, she would probably _very_ nice to cudd-

No. _Nonono._ This was just what she had been afraid of. Focus on something as innocent was the fact that her very close friend was holding her hand so they didn't get separated and before she knew it she was waxing poetic and imagining what it would be like to be her gir- to be with her.

Still, she couldn't just let go - even if she wanted to she had to admit that getting lost in the crowd was a possibility, and this was as good a way as any to make sure that didn't happen. Plus Ruby was holding on pretty tight…

Blake grit her teeth and refocused her mind. _Just push through this,_ she thought to herself. _You've been through worse. It won't be long before this is over. Just focus on moving your feet and making sure you don't hit anyone and nothing else._ There. That was a good idea. She would do that.

…

Wait. Why hadn't she thought of doing that sooner?

After pushing their way through the station and down a couple blocks of the still-crowded main street, Ruby led Blake down onto a side street and mercifully, tragically, let go of her hand. Blake breathed out and all of a sudden the nerves that she had been holding off came crashing back in - her legs felt wobbly and she had to lean against a building to prevent herself from falling over. She closed her eyes and started taking deep, regular breaths to calm herself down.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about that" Ruby said. "I know you're not big on physical contact but one of us getting lost would have been a really crappy way to start our day. Are you okay?"

Blake didn't answer for a second, recomposing herself. "I'm alright, I just need to take a second. And don't worry about it it's - it was a good idea."

"Alright, just wanted to make sure," Ruby said. She paused for a second, waiting for Blake to catch her breath, before chuckling to herself.

Despite herself, Blake smiled weakly. Even at a time like this Ruby's laugh always did have a way of cheering her up. "What's so funny?" Blake asked.

Ruby flashed her an embarrassed grin, and said "Oh nothing. Your hands were just a little colder than I expected."

 _What?_ Had Ruby thought about holding hands with her before? No, probably just something that had happened to occur to her. Entirely innocent. Still, feeling the need to respond, Blake straightened herself off of the building. "Yeah I - my hands have circulation problems sometimes," she said.

Ruby nodded. "Ah, gotcha. Well," she said, shrugging, "I'm not as warm as Yang is but if you ever need to warm up your hands just let me know. Anyways, the bookstore is just a couple of blocks this way. Let's go!"

And with that, as if she hadn't said anything out of the ordinary at all, Ruby turned and started walking down the street.

Blake found that all she could do was gape and stare blankly at Ruby's retreating back. Had Ruby just offered to hold hands with her _any time she wanted?_ She had no right to say something like that so casually and then walk off like nothing had happened! Blake groaned to herself and set off after Ruby.

This girl was going to be the end of her.


	4. Bookstore Blues

Something was wrong with Blake.

Ruby didn't know exactly what it was, but she was sure it was there. Blake was, of course, much harder to read than Yang or Weiss, but Ruby felt that she'd gotten pretty good at reading her over the years - after all, Blake was her best friend!

Well, other than Weiss and Yang, of course. Except… Yang didn't really count since she was her sister, and Weiss didn't really count either since she was her partner, so…

Yeah. Blake was her best friend.

Well in any case, precise friend ordering aside, it was pretty obvious to Ruby that Blake wasn't feeling well. She'd been anxious all day, even before the incidents with the crowds.

Ruby winced. _Yeah… I really should have figured there would be crowds when I planned this. Not exactly the relaxing together time I'd planned for._ Still, Blake hadn't been _this_ bad in ages. Something was up with Blake other than just the crowds. Well, whatever the reason was it didn't change the problem in front of her - her best friend was in a bad way and she had a duty, both as a friend and a team leader, to try and do something about it.

Plus there was… _That_. Some time in the past couple of months Ruby had started feeling something strange whenever she was around Blake, an odd mixture of nervousness, excitement, and other, less identifiable feelings. She couldn't quite identify what it was, only that she always looked forward to spending time with Blake, especially when it was just the two of them. It felt… different than how she looked forward to hanging out with any of her other friends, but in a way that she couldn't quite put her finger on. In the end, she'd just started referring to it as _That weird feeling I get when Blake's around_ , or, for convenience's sake, _That_.

The idea of it being some sort of crush had briefly crossed her mind, but she dismissed it almost out of hand. She didn't have crushes. Oh sure, she was happy whenever her friends started dating someone, but she'd never quite understood the appeal of it herself. Not to mention Yang would never let her hear the end of it if she got a crush on her partner of all people. Or even asked her about it. No, the idea of _That_ being a crush was just stupid.

Luckily for the problem at hand, Ruby had found the perfect solution - or, at the very least, something to distract Blake from whatever was on her mind. The author for one of her and Blake's favorite series had evidently come through and done a book signing at some point, and she'd found a few signed copies of their latest book left over! Ruby grabbed one and looked around to try and find Blake. She spotted her browsing the shelves near the bookstore's small cafe and ran up to hand off the book. "Hey Blake! Look what I found!" she called out.

Blake turned to look and, as she saw what Ruby had found, some of the tenseness in her face seemed to drop away. _Yeah,_ Ruby thought to herself, _that's the stuff! No bad mood can stick around when I'm on the case!_ Ruby handed the book over and, in the process, her hand brushed against Blake's.

Apparently Blake felt it too, as she immediately flinched backwards, dropping the book to the ground as the worry rushed back into her face. Ruby was frozen for a second, too surprised to say anything or react at all. Blake seemed to retreat into herself, shrinking back and stammering apologies as she bent down to pick up the book.

Ruby's first instinct was to grab Blake and drag her over to the cafe and have a Talk with her, but she overruled that idea when she remembered how Blake had _just_ reacted to a simple hand brush. Instead, she figured something a bit gentler was in order. "Hey Blake, can we talk?" she asked quietly.

Blake looked around nervously and Ruby saw her eyes dart towards the exit once or twice. Ruby was shocked that something had evidently been getting to Blake so badly without her noticing at all. She gave her best sad begging eyes and added a "...please?" Blake tensed up and muttered what sounded like a few words of encouragement to herself before nodding jerkily. Ruby felt a little guilty for laying the act on so thick, but she knew that if Blake was feeling bad enough that an abrupt exit seemed tempting then they needed to talk things out _now._ Left alone Blake would just stew in whatever was eating her, and that wouldn't help anyone. The two of them headed over to the cafe.

Ruby led Blake over to a table and ordered a pair of hot chocolates before going back to the table and sitting down across from her friend. "Blake…" she started. "Is everything okay?"

I- it's fine Ruby I'm just… I wasn't feeling very well today and then the crowds and then… I'm fine Ruby. You don't need to worry about me" Blake said, desperately avoiding Ruby's eyes.

"Blake, you shot away from me just because I brushed up against your hand! You haven't been this touch-averse in _years_! I'm really really sorry all this happened and I should have seen you weren't in a great mood this morning, I was just really excited about today and…" Ruby shook her head, trailing off. "Blake, whatever this is, it seems really serious. You know you can tell me anything right? You're my best friend and I'm really worried about you."

Blake bit her lip before answering. "Ruby, thank you so much for that. I appreciate it more than I could ever express but…" she paused. "If this were anything else I would tell you immediately, of course I would, but I can't talk to you about this. I have to deal with this by myself, I can't just-"

Ruby felt a little bout of anger flare up in her gut and she found it hard to focus on whatever excuse Blake was working up. Blake was such an awesome person and she was in such a better place than she was then they first met but she still sometimes went on these spirals where she felt like she couldn't ask anyone for help! It was ridiculous! She-

She needed to calm down. This wasn't Blake's fault. Blake had been through a lot, so much more than she could possibly imagine. As much as Ruby hoped the last couple years had been healthy and healing for Blake she still had so much she needed to work through. And she wanted to help. Blake had been such a good friend to her over the years and she wanted to pay that back in any way she could. Getting mad at her wouldn't help with anything.

Ruby paused for a second, collecting her thoughts, and she noticed that at some point Blake had finished speaking and was looking nervously at her. The fearful look in her eyes hurt Ruby more than she had expected and Ruby's desire to protect and help her friend intensified. Blake had been through so much. She shouldn't need to feel afraid around her friends. She double-checked what she had been planning to say, making sure that everything was as close to what she intended as possible.

"Alright," she started. "I understand. I just worry that you're walling yourself off from us again. If you can't talk to me about it then I'm sure Yang or Weiss or any of our other friends would be super happy to help you out any way they can. And even if you can't talk to them either then… we're all here for you Blake. I'm here. You're my best friend and I want to do everything I can to help you feel better. I want you to be happy," she said, giving Blake her sincerest smile.

Evidently _some_ part of it worked, as Blake smiled and had to look away, a faint blush intruding on her face. Ruby felt a swell of pride filling her up and _That_ sent a brief shock of something unidentifiable but pleasant through her. Blake's smile still looked a little fragile but… hey. It was a start.

Blake took a deep breath before she looked back at Ruby. "Thank you Ruby. That… I don't think that helps in the way you were hoping but I do feel much better. Thank you."

Ruby smiled, feeling the warmth of a job well done spreading through her. Then, an idea occurred to her. "Hey, Blake," she said. "I uh… I know this whole thing started because you were feeling sorta touch-averse, but now that we've talked it out a bit do you want a hug? I remember you once said my hugs always made you feel better."

Blake's eyes widened. Ruby could practically see the internal debate raging in her mind and almost retracted her offer before Blake nodded sharply and started getting out of her chair.

Ruby forced herself to get up slowly, not wanting to appear too eager. True, Blake had said that her hugs made her feel better, and true, she loved making her friends feel good. However, Ruby had a slightly more selfish motivation in mind as well. Now, both standing, Ruby stepped towards Blake. She wrapped her arms around her friend and teammate, snuggled in, and relaxed.

There was always something that was so… _wonderful_ about Blake Hugs. Ruby loved hugging all of her friends, of course, but at the same time she loved hugging Blake more than anyone else she could think of, and she wasn't entirely sure why. She was sure _That_ had something to do with it, she always felt it strongly after a hug, but just why that was, she wasn't sure. Plus there were other things to think about. Sure, Blake's hugs weren't as bone-crushing as Yang's or as tense as Weiss's, but that couldn't account for all of it - sometimes what she really wanted was one of her sister's bear hugs and it always felt special when Weiss actually wanted a hug, but there was something else. Another thing she had trouble defining when it came to Blake.

She gave the mental equivalent of a shrug and went back to enjoying the hug. She was sure she would figure it out eventually.

Blake and Ruby finished up at the bookstore, buying a couple of books to share and taking note of a few more that looked interesting, vowing to come back and buy them when they actually had the money.

Luckily, they managed to catch the shuttle back during a relatively quiet time. Although the shuttle certainly wasn't empty, neither was it anywhere near as crowded as it had been on the ride down, and Blake and Ruby sat with a comfortable distance between them.

A few minutes into their ride, Ruby looked over at Blake. She had already started one of the book's they'd bought, and had quickly become engrossed in it, that particular mixture of eagerness and quiet happiness that came over Blake when she was reading a good book playing over her face. Ruby smiled. She found herself marvelling, certainly not for the first time, at her teammate. Blake was so smart and cool and always nice to be around. Of course Ruby loved her sister and Weiss, but there was something about spending time around Blake that she never got from her other teammates. She'd always found spending time around other people to be so _draining_ , but over the past couple years she'd found that she could spend all day around Blake and barely feel tired at all.

And Blake was so _pretty_! Other than her love of a nice combat skirt, Ruby had never been one to care too much about how she or anyone else looked, but even she could find herself admiring the beautiful and occasionally dashing figure Blake cut seemingly effortlessly. Ruby wondered idly about why Blake was still single. She was pretty sure Blake had gotten crushes on other people before, and she had to imagine that people would ask out someone as nice and pretty as Blake, right? She didn't really understand why anyone bothered with that sort of thing, but Blake seemed like the sort of person people would be tripping over themselves to ask out.

Ruby set aside that train of thought. At the best of times she barely understood romantic stuff, and these thoughts weren't likely to go anywhere useful. She sighed happily.

Truly, she thought to herself, she was lucky to be Blake's friend.

Hey you two, how was your _date_?"

Ruby rolled her eyes. This was hardly the first time Yang had teased the two of them about how much time they spent around each other. "I know you know it wasn't a _date_ , Yang," she said, "and for the record it was a lot of fun."

As she walked over to her bed to start her new book Ruby didn't notice either the knowing and teasing look Yang shot at Blake, or the blush that fought its way to Blake's face.

* * *

Author notes! I forgot about those. Anyways so uh... this took a while. In my defense since the last chapter I got a new job and moved across the country. I'm not going to say anything about hoping the next chapter doesn't take as long but we all know how those turn out. We'll see.


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